Well pumping unit



1937. H. G. DURNELL ET AL 2,098,957

WELL PUMPING UNIT Filed Aug. 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l V- 6, 1937. H. G. DURNELL ET AL 2,098,957

WELL PUMPING UNIT 7 Filed Aug. 24, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1937. H. G. DURNELL ET AL 2,098,957

WELL PUMPING UNIT Filed Aug. 24, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IAN"! Ill,

Patented Nov. 16, 1937 asses? PATENT QFFECE WELL PUMPING UNIT Harold G. Durnell and Samuel T. Steel, Bartlesville, Okla.

Application August 24, 1936, Serial No. 97,712

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in well pumping mechanism, and more especially to a novel unit for use in pumping a number of wells from a single power source. The primary object of the invention is to provide a novel unit adapted to utilize the back crank of a standard rig for operating a plurality of additional wells spaced from the central well having the standard rig.

In accordance with our invention, the middle well rig of a group of wells is selected, and a back crank is put on the band wheel crank shaft of that rig in the place where a calf wheel is used during the drilling operation. Then a pitman is r employed to utilize the motion of this back crank for driving an oscillating wheel member designed to impart motion to rod lines extending at various angles to the pump jacks of other wells. Our improved unit is so designed that the rod lines will not be interfered with by the well rig or derrick of the middle well, and motion can be imparted directly through rod lines to pump jacks arranged in various locations in the vicinity of the middle well without employing expensive swings to change the direction of the rod lines to off line wells.

A further object is to provide a new combination of pumping elements in which the front crank of a band wheel shaft of a rig is employed to oscillate the walking beam of the central well, and a back crank of the same shaft is used to operate our improved unit which drives the rod lines of the pump jacks of adjacent wells. The combination and arrangement of parts is such that the strains on the band wheel shaft are balanced, and this causes the band wheel to rotate evenly without any jerky motion.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a well rig provided with our improvements,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the oscillating wheel member of our unit.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view partly in elevation of a detail.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the rod arms forming part of our mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 6 designates the floor of a middle or central well having a conventional derrick l. A vertical pumping rod 8 extends into the well 9 and has its upper end pivotally connected at H] to a walking beam II. The latter oscillates on a horizontal shaft I2 carried by a support l3.

At the opposite end of the walking beam, a pitman I4 is suspended from a horizontal axle l5, and the lower end of this pitman is pivotally connected to the front crank [6 of the horizontal shaft ll of the band wheel l8 of the rig of this well. The band wheel is driven by a belt 19 operated by an engine 20.

. In accordance with our invention, a back crank 2| is detachably secured to the rear end of the band wheel shaft I! in place of the conventional calf wheel of the rig, and this crank has a horizontal pin 22 at its outer end that is connected by a self-aligning bearing 22a to one end of a pitman 23. Obviously, the rotation of the crank 2| will cause the pitman 23 to move in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of the crank, and this movement is imparted to a special wheel 24 forming the main element of our improved unit. This wheel, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, oscillates on a vertical post 25 fixedly supported by a suitable base or foundation 26, and between the hub 21 of the wheel 24 and the bearing portion of the post, we arrange a bearing collar 28. This collar is loosely placed between the parts so that it can rotate due to the motion of the oscillating Wheel, and for the purpose of lubricating the parts, lubricant cups 29 are secured to the top of the wheel. These cups feed lubricant into the annular space in which the collar is located. A thrust bearing ring 30 may also be arranged at the bottom of the hub to support the wheel on the post.

The oscillating wheel includes a substantially circular body 3| and a horizontal arm 32, the latter being ofiset relatively to the body, i, e., arranged at a higher elevation so as to transmit motion of the pitman 23 directly to the wheel. At the point where the pitman is connected to the wheel 24, the arm is provided with a vertical pin or shaft 33 carrying an ear 34 that is pivotally connected to the pitman by a horizontal bolt 35.

The edge portion of the body of the wheel 24 is provided with top and bottom wedge-shaped grooves 24a and 242). A series of uniformly spaced vertical apertures 36 extend through the wheel where the grooves are located and are designed to receive bolts 31, employed in securing rod arms 38 to the wheel. These rod arms may be arranged on the top or bottom of the body portion of the wheel 24, as shown in the drawings, so as to accommodate rod lines positioned at different elevations, and each rod arm is provided with an aperture 39 to receive a pivot bolt 40 employed in securing the clamp 4| at the end of a rod line 42 to the oscillating wheel portion of our unit. Each rod arm is preferably provided with an areshaped lug 38a to conform with the grooves of the wheel 24.

In operation, it will be understood that the engine 20 will rotate the shaft l1, and that as the front crank 16 of this shaft operates the walking beam of the central well, and the back crank 2| of the same shaft actuates the wheel 24 which moves the rod lines of adjacent wells, said shaft will be balanced, and the power will be evenly distributed to the various wells.

By our arrangement, it will be noted that as the post 25 of the oscillating wheel 24 is offset rearwardly relatively to the rig, a rod line 42a, which is substantially parallel to the plane of movement of the back crank may reciprocate without interference by the derrick. In other words, our placement of the parts allows this rod line to clear the derrick.

Furthermore, as the body of the oscillating wheel is substantially circular, the rod lines can extend off at various angles or in any direction so as to eliminate the use of swings. Moveover, as the oscillating wheel has a series of peripheral apertures 35, the rod arms 38 can be secured to the wheel at various points so as to accommodate the rod lines of particular wel1s.

Owing to the height of the band wheel shaft and back crank, we have designed our oscillating wheel so as to reduce the angularity of the pitman 23 without building too high a base for the wheel.

32, we decrease the angularity of the pitman to about 16 degrees of its or the back cranks highest position. Our center bearing of the unit is designed to take care of this construction.

In some instances, the crank shaft of a well rig is driven by reduction gearing from the engine instead of directly by a belt l9, as illustrated in our drawings, and of course, our mechanism will work equally well whether the crank shaft is driven directly or through the instrumentality of reduction gearing.

Our improvements overcome the faults of high rod lines and high angularity of conventional pitmans, and it enables us to directly take off power from a central rig by means of rod lines arranged at various angles relatively to our unit, and as before stated, these rod lines can clear the derrick and well rig of the central well.

While we have disclosed what we new consider to be a preferred embodiment of our invention in such manner that the same may be readily understood by those skilled in the art, we are aware that changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, as expressed in the claim.

Whatis claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

Well pumping mechanism of the class described comprising in combination a power unit having a substantially horizontal crank shaft provided with front and rear cranks, a well pump walking beam, means operatively connecting the front crank to the walking beam for actuating the latter from the power unit, said rear crank being provided with a single power take-off, a substantially horizontally disposed wheel oscillatable about a vertical axis and arranged to one side of the power unit, said wheel having an arm projecting toward the power unit, a pitman connected at one end to the power take-off of the rear, crank and connected at its opposite end to said arm, said pitman having a universal joint interposed therein, and a number of power take-offs carried by said wheel.

HAROLD G. DURNELL. SAMUEL T. STEEL. 

